[3] In the midst of supporting Daniel Amos on their Fearful Symmetry tour in late 1986, the Choir received some devastating news—drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong's wife Nancy had suffered her second miscarriage.

"[4] Even though the Choir had achieved a heightened national profile during this time due to touring across the US with both Daniel Amos and Randy Stonehill, Hindalong was forced to make ends meet by working in construction, which included digging ditches.

The recording process for Chase the Kangaroo was long and difficult, and Daugherty and Hindalong felt the pressure of living up to the success of Diamonds and Rain as well as proving themselves as producers.

[12] Chase the Kangaroo benefited from other key contributors, primarily lead singer and bass guitarist Steve Griffith from Vector.

Mark Heard, who had helped produce the re-recorded version of "A Million Years,"[14] also returned to assist with engineering, recording and background vocals.

One challenge during the recording process was capturing the work of saxophone and Lyricon player Dan Michaels, who—in contrast to his more animated stage presence—would tend to freeze up under studio pressure.

[7] The Choir explored far more atmospheric and ambient textures on Chase the Kangaroo with "deep rhythms, layered guitars, [and] haunting vocals.

[15] Daugherty then used a Korg SDD 3000 Delay for its "weird, harmonic modulation feature,"[16] which Hindalong claimed was "one of my favorite guitar things Derri's ever done.

Engineer Dave Hackbarth slowed the analog tape down so Hindalong could play along, which made the final performance sound much tighter at normal speed.

Many of the other songs on the album also dealt with weighty topics, like mortality ("Children of Time"),[12] the deadly power of words ("Cain"),[21] the importance of caring for one's eldest family members ("Look Out (For Your Own)")[20] and disconnection from loved ones ("So Far Away").

[18] "The Rifleman" juxtaposed spoken verses by a number of individuals, primarily road manager Marc Sercomb, as well as background vocalist Sharon McCall, Hindalong and others, with Daugherty singing the chorus.

[27] The song then fades into a reprise of "Render Love" from Diamonds and Rain at the very end, as Hindalong wanted to explore the tension between what people say and what they do when it comes to violence.

The title track "Chase the Kangaroo" was inspired by a Bugs Bunny cartoon that Hindalong watched during the time he was working construction, "mostly picking and shoveling, in the ditch for days.

"[6] Upon initial release, the album cover artwork for Chase the Kangaroo differed for each of the three primary audio formats at that time (vinyl, cassette and CD).

[31] Originally with the popular L.A. cult band the Toasters, Spurs was introduced to the Choir by her then-boyfriend, writer Chris Willman, who would later go on to be a music critic and features editor for Entertainment Weekly and Variety, respectively.

[31][32] Spurs immediately joined the Choir on tour as they played a mixture of L.A. clubs (the Roxy and the Troubador), opening slots for the 77's, and their own shows across the US.

[35] According to the band, because Myrrh Records (now Curb/Word) still owns the copyright to the album, both the re-released and remastered versions of Chase the Kangaroo could not be released digitally.

[2] In that entry, writer Brian Quincy Newcomb stated that "it was the passion in the lyrics and Daugherty's vocal delivery—together with the overall energy of the instrumental arrangements—that lifted this album above the norm."

He praised the "keen philosophical insights [...] that engaged the mind and trusted the listener to figure out what was what," and called the Choir "a Christian band that rocked with intensity," and "the real deal.

"[2] At the time of release, Cornerstone Magazine expressed similar sentiments, and wrote that Chase the Kangaroo was "musically stunning and lyrically brilliant."

The review praised Daugherty's lead guitar work as "favorably comparing to the Edge's," declaring that the album was "biting atmospheric rock of diamond quality.

Retrospectively, Mark Allan Powell wrote in the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music that "the band achieves a more distinctive sound on Chase the Kangaroo," and regarded the "martial drumbeat" of "Clouds" as, "similar to that which undergirds Fleetwood Mac's Tusk.

"[3] In his four-star review for all AllMusic, Mark Allender wrote that the strength of the album is in its musicianship: "Hindalong's drumming really comes to the forefront on this release – held silent for so long.